General Motors South Africa was originally founded in 1913
as a wholly owned subsidiary to distribute imported Chevrolet cars
from the USA. Local manufacture started in 1926 with an assembly
plant next to the Company’s headquarters at Port Elizabeth which
built a variety of GM branded vehicles from the US,it also assembled vehicles for export to other RHD markets
in the region, such as Zimbabwe (Rhodesia), Zambia, Mozambique,
Malawi, Kenya & Mauritius. By the 1960s the Port Elizabeth
plant was proving extremely flexible with partial CKD assembly of a
wide range of cars & trucks which included Vauxhall &
Bedford models. In 1969 it launched its own unique brand – Ranger,
this was a mix of Opel Rekord & Vauxhall Victor with locally
produced engines. During the early part of the 1970s all brands
were replaced by Chevrolet, this included the Vauxhall Viva HC
which was sold as the Chevrolet Firenza and later as the Chevrolet
1300 & 1900 which also included a unique hatchback version from
1976. In 1975 the South African range offered included a large gap
between the Vauxhall HC based 1300 / 1900 and the Opel Rekord C
based Chevrolet 2500. The European U car was the logical choice to
fill this gap, as it did in Europe, but in typical GMSA tradition
it would be uniquely tailored for the South African
market.

2. VAUXHALL U CAR - CAVALIER MK1 aka CHEVROLET
CHEVAIR:

The General Motors U car was sold in Europe as the Vauxhall
Cavalier MK1 & Opel Ascona / Manta B, both launched in 1975,
and used the Opel CIH 1600 & 1900cc engines with Opel offering
an OHV 1196cc and, later, Vauxhall with a 1256cc OHV as base model
power units. Except for the Vauxhall engine, none of these were
deemed suitable for South Africa where a minimum local content was
a major consideration and with servicing facilities thinly spread
across the country an established, and familiar to local mechanics,
engine was required. This meant the car was re-engineered by GMSA
Engineers to use the well-tried & tested 4-cylinder OHV
Chevrolet based 153cui engine that was originally designed as the
base power unit for the Chevrolet II / Nova This was in effect a
shortened 4-cylinder version of the Chevrolet 230cui in-line six
and after use in the Nova, the 5-main bearing engine was primarily
used for industrial forklifts, generators and marine applications -
apart from in South Africa. The use of this engine also precluded
the use of the European 4-speed gearbox as well, so the locally
produced transmission from the Chevrolet Firenza was adapted to fit
the U Car which entailed some local modifications to the floorpan
& bulkhead. Two engine sizes were offered, achieved by using
two different bore sizes, a 1960cc using a bore & stroke of
90.5mm x 76.2mm and a 2320cc with 98.43mm x 76.2mm. A compression
ratio of 9.0:1 and a Rochester Monojet carburettor was used on
both. The smaller unit produced 76bhp @ 5200rpm (net) 90bhp (gross)
& 114lb-ft @ 2400rpm (gross) while the larger version produced
84bhp@ 4700rpm (net) 103bhp @ 5200rpm (gross) & 134lb-ft @
3300rpm (gross). The gear ratios were the same for either engine
but the rear axle ratio was 3.7:1 with the 2.0litre & 3.42:1
with the 2.3litre engine. A 3-speed GM Tri-Matic automatic
transmission was an option and was imported from Holden in
Australia. Interestingly, the 2.0litre engine was manufactured by
GMSA but the 2.3litre unit was built under licence by Hercules SA
to GMSA specifications.

Locally named the Chevair by GMSA, for no known reason, the car was
assembled from a mixture of largely, but not exclusively, imported
panels from Europe as well as dashboard, instruments and main light
units. The engines, manual gearbox, seats, door trims, centre
console and additional front reflectors were all unique to South
Africa. The Chevair was only sold as a 4-door saloon using the
standard Cavalier / Ascona body but with a Manta front end panel
something that was also unique to South Africa. Assembled at the
Port Elizabeth factory and launched in November 1976, the Chevrolet
Chevair was available as a 2.0litre Deluxe or 2.3litre GL both with
the option of automatic transmission. There were no engine
interchange options. The Deluxe was identified by vynil seat trim
& slotted wheels with chrome hub caps. GL models featured side
rubbing strips, bumper over riders, Rostyle wheels with chrome trim
rings, locking fuel cap, boot & bonnet lamp, duel tone horn,
clock, dipping rear view mirror, head restraints, vanity mirror
& 4 spoke steering wheel. Metallic paint, vynil roof, heated or
tinted rear window, trailer package and cruise control (unique to
GMSA) was optional on both models.

The Chevair was an immediate success and was also awarded 1977 Car
Of The Year by Car Magazine South Africa. By 1978 the Chevair had
replaced the larger engine Viva HC based 1900cc Chevrolet models.
In November 1979, the car received a mild facelift with a unique to
South Africa front end design, larger plastic wraparound bumpers,
new seating, revised carburation and engines giving slightly
increased power output with better economy. The range was
rationalised to the Chevair 2.0GL in manual or automatic & the
2.3 Berlina automatic, it remained unchanged until July 1982 when
production ended. Just as in Europe, the car was replaced by the
FWD J Car in 1982 which was sold just as an Opel Ascona with a much
more similar specification to the European Vauxhall Cavalier MK2
& Opel Ascona C, it ceased production in 1986 leaving a gap in
GM's South African line-up.

CHEVROLET
CHEVAIR BROCHURES:

CHEVROLET CHEVAIR
ADVERTISING:

2. VAUXHALL U CAR -
CAVALIER MK1 aka CHEVROLET ASCONA:

The planned demise of the Vauxhall Viva HC in the UK & Europe
was a problem for GMSA as it relied on a lot of body panels and
major components to assemble the Chevrolet 1300 / 1900 Saloon and
Chevrolet Hatch even though the latter was a unique model to South
Africa. The Vauxhall 1256cc OHV engine had proved both reliable and
economical under the less than ideal conditions in South Africa and
Vauxhall planned production for at least another 4 years, as it
turned out it was actually even longer than forecast. The engine
was already being fitted to the Vauxhall Cavalier 1300L / GL for
British & European customers. GMSA needed a replacement for the
bottom end of their range but wanted to create a “new” model at
minimal cost therefore retaining the Chevair up market image. The
result was an Opel Ascona body, as per Europe, but fitted with the
1256cc engine and Vauxhall 4-speed gearbox. The Chevrolet Ascona
was launched in November 1978 and was available in 2 trim levels –
Standard & S. Considering the economy orientated mechanical
specification GMSA made the Ascona S into a bit of a sheep in wolfs
clothing. The car used blacked out window frames, Rostyle wheels,
wild looking black & white check interior trim with a 3 spoke
sports steering wheel which all looked very good but was out of
step with the performance offered. Never the less, the Chevrolet
Ascona was popular and continued in production until July 1982 when
all South African U Car variations came to an
end.